Books read in 2025

 For whatever reason, I didn't read as much in 2025 as I've done previously.   Which sucks.  I hope to do better in 2026.

 Here goes:

 FICTION

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi:  I read this for a book club, and am glad is was suggested.  I'll read more by this author.

The True, True Sotry of Raja the Gullible (and his mother), by Rabih Alameddine

O Caledonia, by Elspeth Barker

Perspective(s), by Laurent Binet  Political intrigue in Renaissance Florence, and the supposed murder of the painter, Jacopo da Pontormo

Volevamo prendere il cielo, by Federica Bosco, read for my Italian book club.

Four by Andrea Camilleri:   A Beam of Light, Death at Sea: Montalbano's Early Cases, The Brewer of Preston, and The Pyramid of Mud

The Proof of my Innocence, by Jonathan Coe

A Sunny Place for Shady People, by Mariana Enriquez 

The Devil Three Times, by Rickey Fayne

Disco Witches of Fire Island, by Blair Fell

Scarhaven Keep by J.S. Fletcher

Revenge of the Librarians, by Tom Gauld (comics)

Let Me Tell You / Let Me Go On, by Paul Griffiths:  "Hamlet", from Ophelia's point of view

Mornings without Mii, by Mayumi Inaba

The Forbidden Book, by Sacha Lamb

Box Hill: a story of Low Self-Esteem, by Adam Mars-Jones.  The film "Pillion" is based on this and I cannot wait.  There are apparently significant differences between the film and the book, and I'll comment on those once I've seen the movie.

Twist, by Colum McCann

A House for Miss Pauline, by Diana McCaulay

The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller  I took a seminar at University of Chicago in August, "An Epic Week with Homer", a deep dive into the Iliad, which included visits to Regenstein Library and the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (née the Oriental Institute), as well as a video of the Court Theatre's production of An Iliad.  Miller's book has long been on my "want to read" list, so the seminar was the push I needed.   It's a great book, beautifully written, although I have some quibbles, particularly with her representation of Patroclus.

Madame Sosotris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted, by Ben Okri

The Oceans of Cruelty: 25 tales of a corpse spirit, by Douglas J. Penick

Una Storia Romantica, by Antonio Scurati I read this for my Italian book club, and it led me down rabbit holes.  It's set during the Five Days of Milan, an uprising against the Austrian occupation.   I found a really good video on YouTube of Scurati lecturing on the topic.

The Queer principles of Kit Webb, and You should be so lucky, by Cat Sebastian  M/M romance

The Café with no name, by Robert Seethaler

The Island of Missing Trees, by Elif Shafak

The Original, by Nell Stevens 

Rules for Ghosting, by Shelly Jay Shore

What's Left of the Night, by Ersi Sotiropoulos  A novel based on a few days of Constantine Cavafy's time in Paris

Our Colors, by Gengoroh Tagame

Strange Pictures, by Uketsu

Mazeltov, by Eli Zuzovsky 

 

NON-FICTION 

 

Immodest Acts: the life of a lesbian nun in Renaissance Italy, by Judith C. Brown

The Lion House: the rise of Suleyman the Magnificent, by Christopher de Bellaigue

Book and Dagger: how scholars and librarians became the unlikely spies of World War II, by Elyse Graham

Night Circus: 2024-2025 Triannual Traveling Exhibition, by the Guild of Book Workers

The bootleg home of Frank Lloyd Wright, by Robert J. Hartnett  When FLW borrowed $5,000 from Louis Sullivan to build his home in Oak Park, he agreed not to take any commissions outside of the firm of Adler & Sullivan.  He did not keep that promise, which resulted in his leaving A&S (quit? fired? depends which story you read).  This book discusses which of his houses should properly be deemed "bootleg", and really should be in on the bookshelves of any Wright afficionado.  It could have used some editing (he refers to Augusta Chapin several times as Augusta "Chapman", but that's a minor issue in the scheme of things).

Victorians Undone: tales of the flesh in the age of decorum,  by Kathryn Hughes

Negroland: a memoir, by Margo Jefferson

Don't Go: stories of segregation and how to disrupt it, by Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan  Johnson created a project called "Folded Maps", connecting addresses on the north and south sides of Chicago, and in many cases introducing the occupants of those addresses.  Maria Krysan is a sociologist at the University of Illinois - Chicago.   This book consists of interviews with people who were told "don't go" to parts of the city and how they responded to that warning.

When we rise: my life in the movement, by Cleve Jones  Jones is a towering figure in the gay rights movement, a mentee of Harvey Milk, the creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and an excellent writer.

Sexual Outsiders: understanding BDSM sexualities and communities, by David M. Ortmann

What in me is dark: the revolutionary after life of Paradise Lost, by Orlando Reade

Knife: Meditations after an attempted murder, by Salman Rushdie 

The Great Kosher Meat War of 1902, by Scott D. Seligman  I went to NYC in October and visited the Museum on Eldridge Street.  The building was the Eldridge Street Synagogue, and the guide told us about an incident when women who were boycotting kosher meat purveyors over price hikes took to the bimah there to present their grievances.   I had to know more, and this book told me more.

Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers, by Jean Strouse  I'm a Sargent fan, and one of my favorite paintings of his is "The Wertheimer Sisters".  

The Chiffon Trenches, by André Leon Talley 

The Secret Life of the Savoy, by Olivia Williams I did not know that London's Savoy Hotel had been owned by the D'oyle Carte family (the Gilbert & Sullivan folks).   Now I do.